Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Augustus Henry Kilty (November 25, 1807 – November 10, 1879) was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
officer who served during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
Biography
Born at
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, Kilty was appointed
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...
on July 4, 1821.
He served in the frigate in the
West India Squadron from 1827, then in the frigate in the
Brazil Squadron
The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When t ...
from 1829.
Kilty was promoted to
passed midshipman
A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vac ...
on April 28, 1832, and served aboard the
schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
in the West India Squadron in 1832–34.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant on September 6, 1837, and served on the sloop in the
East India Squadron
The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a Squadron (naval), squadron of American ships that existed in the nineteenth century. It focused on protecting American interests in the Far East, while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on ...
,
taking part in Commodore
George Reid
Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...
's operations in defense of American merchantmen at
Quallah Batto in 1839.
He then served on the frigates and in the
Mediterranean Squadron between 1843 and 1848.
In 1850 he was stationed on the
receiving ship
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...
at New York, and was at Baltimore a year later, returning to New York in 1855. Kilty was simultaneously promoted to
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
on September 14, 1855,
and placed on the Reserve List.
Kilty returned to the Active List on January 6, 1859,
and was stationed in Baltimore in 1860 as a recruiting officer.
From 1861 Kilty commanded the ironclad gunboat of the
Mississippi Flotilla,
and saw action at
Island No. 10 and
Fort Pillow. He commanded an expedition to
White River, Arkansas, and during the operation, on June 17, 1862, was severely wounded, causing the loss of his left arm.
Kilty received his commission as a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
on July 16, 1862, and spent the years 1863–64 on ordnance duty. He commanded the
ironclad
An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...
frigate in the
North Atlantic Squadron
The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the No ...
from 1864 to 1865, and was promoted to
commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (India), in India
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
on July 25, 1866, and served as the Commandant of the
Norfolk Navy Yard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...
.
Kilty was placed on the Retired List on November 25, 1868, and received promotion to
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
on July 13, 1870. He died on November 10, 1879.
Namesake
The destroyer , launched in April 1918, was named in his honor.
See also
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Picture History : Augustus H. Kilty (1807-1879)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilty, Augustus H.
1807 births
1879 deaths
Union Navy officers
United States Navy admirals
People of Maryland in the American Civil War
Military personnel from Annapolis, Maryland